Prime — Session Startup

Complete startup checklist for new agent sessions. Direct execution (no subagents).

Design rationale: This skill executes directly rather than spawning subagents because each step is a simple command sequence (~200 tokens each), not substantial analytical work. Per Lita research: "Simple agents achieve 97% of complex system performance with 15x less code." Subagent overhead would exceed actual work.

When This Applies

Tool Reference

Agent Mail (MCP)

Bash Commands

Execution Flow

Execute these steps directly. No subagents needed.

Step 1: Register Identity

PREFERRED — Use macro for simplicity:

result = macro_start_session(
    human_key="PROJECT_PATH",  # Absolute path to project
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    inbox_limit=10
)
agent_name = result["agent"]["name"]  # e.g., "BlueLake"

ALTERNATIVE — Manual steps:

# 1. Ensure project exists
ensure_project(human_key="PROJECT_PATH")

# 2. Register agent (name is auto-assigned)
result = register_agent(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    task_description="Agent initializing..."
)
agent_name = result["name"]  # SAVE THIS

# 3. Set contact policy for coordination
set_contact_policy(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    policy="open"
)

Update terminal title:

echo -ne "\033]0;[{agent_name}] | PROJECT_NAME\007"

Step 2: Orient

Read project documentation:

Read("AGENTS.md")     # Agent workflow instructions
Read("CLAUDE.md")     # Project overview

Check recent session history:

cass search "PROJECT_NAME" --workspace "PROJECT_PATH" --robot --days 7 --limit 5

Get learned patterns:

cm context "starting work on PROJECT_NAME" --json

Check git state:

git status
git log --oneline -5
git branch

Discover active agents:

ReadMcpResourceTool(
    server="mcp-agent-mail",
    uri="resource://agents/PROJECT_PATH"
)

Step 3: Coordinate

Check inbox:

messages = fetch_inbox(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    include_bodies=True,
    limit=20
)

Categorize messages:

• Urgent — Requires response before starting work
• Informational — [CLAIMED], [CLOSED] announcements
• Acknowledgement required — ack_required=True

Note file reservations from other agents (these are off-limits).

Send greeting (if other agents active):

send_message(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    sender_name=agent_name,
    to=[active_agents],
    subject="Agent Online",
    body_md="I'm online. Focusing on: [task]. What needs attention?",
    importance="normal"
)

Step 4: Discover Work

Get recommendations:

bv --robot-triage      # Priority analysis
bv --robot-next        # Single best task

Get ready tasks:

bd ready --json

Check already claimed:

bd list --status in_progress --json

Filter by file availability:

• Check each ready task's required files
• Exclude tasks where files are reserved by others
• Recommend highest-priority available task

Step 5: Output Summary

Present to user:

## Agent Initialized

**Name:** {agent_name}
**Project:** PROJECT_NAME
**Branch:** {git_branch}

### Context
- Recent sessions: {summary from CASS}
- Active agents: {list or "none"}
- Inbox: {count} messages ({urgent} urgent)
- Blocked files: {list or "none"}

### Learned Patterns
{relevant patterns from cm}

### Recommended Task
**ID:** {task_id}
**Title:** {task_title}
**Priority:** {priority}
**Files:** {file_scope}

Ready to claim? Use `/advance` to claim and begin work.

Mandatory Gates

After priming, these gates apply to all work:

Quick Reference

# Register (preferred)
macro_start_session(human_key=PROJECT_PATH, program="claude-code", model="opus-4.5")

# Orient
cass search "PROJECT" --robot --days 7
cm context "task" --json
git status

# Coordinate
fetch_inbox(agent_name=YOUR_NAME, limit=20)
send_message(to=[...], subject="Agent Online", ...)

# Discover
bv --robot-triage
bd ready --json

Anti-Patterns

See Also

• /advance — Claim and work on tasks
• /recall — Get context from past sessions
• beads-cli/ — bd command reference
• beads-viewer/ — bv command reference